Chapter 108: The Drummer, Part Three

After the protagonist returned to his godfather’s home, he became utterly idle, doing nothing all day but eat and sleep, like a useless wreck.

Zhang Feng told him to go outside and move around a little, but he had no desire to do anything at all. He only wanted to stay alone in his room, preferably forever, as though he could spend his whole life without stepping outside.

Seeing how listless he had become, Zhang Feng truly could not bear it. A day or two of rest after coming back would have been perfectly normal, but to keep sleeping on and on after that was unacceptable. If he went on like this, what was the difference between him and a cripple?

Every day it was only eat, sleep, sleep, eat, and perhaps a little time on his phone. The whole time he looked utterly dispirited, unable to summon the slightest energy, as if nothing in the world mattered to him at all.

The sight of him in this state gave Zhang Feng a headache, because he was nothing like the person she remembered.

In her memory, he had been a boy of fire and blood, full of passion for everything, always upbeat, brimming with positive energy, lively to a fault. He would never have looked like this, like the living dead.

She knew he had suffered a blow lately and been hurt badly, but she could not understand why a setback had reduced him to such a ruined state.

Before this, even when he was playing the drums, no matter what difficulties or grievances he faced, he would always endure. If he failed once, he would try again. In short, he had never even considered the words give up.

Zhang Feng truly could not stand this version of him anymore. She could not watch him remain so despondent, like a useless husk. She had to think of a way to wake him up and stop him from sinking further into self-induced hibernation and self-pity.

Before going to see him, Zhang Feng had even discussed it with her father. Her father supported the idea as well. Ever since the protagonist came back, he had felt something was off.

At first, he thought the boy would gradually recover after a few days, but nearly a week had passed and there was no sign of improvement. In fact, things had grown worse. He had become almost entirely withdrawn, showing no interest in anything, his whole body and soul steeped in negativity. Compared with the earlier version of him, who had been full of positive energy, it was as if they were two completely different people.

If they did not find a way to untie the knot in his heart, then he would truly be ruined.

He had seen this sort of thing often enough around him. Many people, unable to endure heavy blows from the outside world, would simply choose self-protection, cutting themselves off from everything and everyone, refusing all contact in order to create a closed, guarded state for themselves.

As the protagonist’s godfather, he would never allow such a thing to happen to him. So he wholeheartedly supported Zhang Feng’s idea. They had to get his mind back on track, or else the child would be彻彻底底 ruined. And he was only a little over twenty years old!

At such a young age, he should have been laying out grand ambitions, not beginning his decline into a useless wreck.

"Ah Ran, how much longer are you going to lie there like this?" Zhang Feng went straight to his room after making up her mind.

The moment she entered, she saw him scrolling through the insults people were hurling at him online. Zhang Feng immediately snatched the phone from his hand.

"What a joke. Calling yourself a drum genius? Get lost already!"

"Your image has collapsed, huh? I’ve been waiting for this."

"How did this guy even become popular? He doesn’t even know the basics of drumming."

"The threshold for the entertainment industry is way too low these days. Can anyone just come in and make a living?"

"I actually used to treat someone like this as an idol and a role model. Thinking about it now just makes me sick. It was never worth it."

Seeing those shocking comments on his phone, Zhang Feng felt a chill run down her back. Facing this kind of abuse day after day, how could anyone possibly feel okay?

For a moment, all the sharp words she had prepared, the ones she had wanted to use to snap him out of it, died on her lips. He was already suffering enough. If she went on to scold him too, then she truly could not imagine what he might do next.

"Come on, Ah Ran, stop looking at this stuff online. How could those people possibly understand your real situation? They’re nothing but rumor-mongers and blind followers, believing whatever gossip happens to catch fire."

"Do I know whether you really have the ability or not? Of course I do. Your sister Feng will always believe in you! Let’s not look at these comments anymore, okay? Just treat them like a load of nonsense." Zhang Feng hurried to comfort him with words, afraid he might do something frightening.

After hearing her, he gave no response. He only kept repeating the same words over and over.

"What’s the use of believing in me? They’ll still keep cursing me."

"What’s the use of believing in me? They’ll still keep cursing me."

The sight of him like this gave Zhang Feng a headache. She did not know what he had gone through during this time, what burdens he had silently borne, to be hit so hard all at once.

He had been driven to this state by the words on the internet. Zhang Feng could not help thinking that online violence was truly terrifying, capable of crushing a person to this extent. He had done nothing wicked or unforgivable, and he was already being attacked like this. If he had actually done something wrong, wouldn’t they have driven him to death outright?

"Get up. Come with me somewhere!" Zhang Feng could not hold back any longer at the sight of him. What kind of look was it for a grown man to become like this?

"Huh? What are you doing? I’m fine!" He had been sitting on the bed perfectly well, and then Zhang Feng dragged him up all at once, leaving him stunned. After she pulled him outside, the blazing sun hanging high in the sky stabbed painfully at his eyes. He had not gone out for so long that he could no longer quite tolerate this level of sunlight.

"When you get there, you’ll understand." After looking at him for a long while, Zhang Feng finally decided to use her last resort. She was going to recreate a scene from the past, hoping to wake the old him and help him find the strength to stand up again, instead of remaining in this dispirited state.

A faster update of "Entertainment Begins with a Sunny Day" by the great author Xiao Mu Bu Chi Xiang Cai is available for you. To continue checking the fastest updates next time, please be sure to save the bookmark!

Chapter 108: "Drummer Three" Free Reading.